Explosive seventies from Michael Hussey and Andrew Symonds led Australia to a four-wicket victory against New Zealand
at Benoni. Chasing 183 to win, the match hung in the balance for a
while before Australia stepped up the pace and clinched victory with
ten balls to spare.

Australia's chase got off to a terrible start
after Shane Bond removed Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden for ducks in
the first over. It soon got worse when Brad Hodge fell with the score
on 15 but his dismissal brought Hussey and Symonds together and they
began Australia's aggressive recovery. Symonds belted 70 off 43 balls
with eight fours and two sixes and added 113 with Hussey for the fourth
wicket. Hussey accelerated once Symonds was dismissed and scored 72 off
44 balls with four sixes. By the time he was dismissed in the 19th over
with Australia on 181, victory was within touching distance.

The most destructive innings of the match,
however, came from Craig McMillan's bat. He blasted 60 off only 29
balls from No. 6 and hit five fours and four sixes. His half-century
and Ross Taylor's 53 off 39 balls were the only substantial
contributions that led New Zealand to 182 for 8. Ben Hilfenhaus bowled
an exceptional spell, taking 3 for 11 off three overs.

Earlier at the same ground, a whirlwind 63 off 30 balls from Marlon Samuels led West Indies to a comfortable six-wicket victory against Kenya.
Chasing 156 in their first warm-up match of the ICC World Twenty20,
Shivnarine Chanderpaul remained unbeaten on 46 off 33 balls as West
Indies reached the target with 2.3 overs to spare.

Samuels smashed three fours and six sixes during a 105-run stand for
the third wicket with Chanderpaul after they had lost their first two
wickets with the score on 38. Kenya's new-ball bowlers bowled tight
spells, Peter Ongondo took 2 for 21 off his fours overs while Thomas
Odoyo took 1 for 19 off 3.3 overs. The support bowlers, however, got
hit for plenty. Rajesh Bhudia went for 42 in four overs and Steve
Tikolo conceded as many in two.

The West Indian bowlers had backed up
Ramnaresh Sarwan's decision to field by restricting Kenya to 155 for 5
in 20 overs. Kenya had lost David Obuya early but were on course for a
sizable total after Maurice Ouma and Tanmay Mishra, who top-scored with
43, took them to 70 after 9.3 overs with eight wickets in hand. Fidel
Edwards, although wicketless, conceded just 21 off his four overs and
didn't allow the Kenyans to accelerate.

Sri Lanka's bowlers did an excellent job of restricting hosts South Africa to 161 for 9 in Potchefstroom before their batsmen knocked off the target with five wickets in hand and seven balls to spare.

After being put in, Graeme Smith stood firm at
one end, scoring 46 off 35 balls, but South Africa lost Herschelle
Gibbs and AB de Villiers cheaply at the other. Justin Kemp hit three
sixes during his 32 off 22 balls but South Africa kept losing wickets
at regular intervals and could never build up momentum. It was left to
Albie Morkel to boost the total to 150 by hitting 28 off 16 balls.
Farveez Maharoof was Sri Lanka's most successful bowler with 3 for 31.

Sanath Jayasuriya gave Sri Lanka a solid
start to the chase, scoring 46 off 34 balls. Upul Tharanga and Dilruwan
Perera feel cheaply but all of the middle-order batsmen chipped in to
see Sri Lanka home. Mahela Jayawardene remained unbeaten on 37 off 21
balls.

An outstanding spell from Umar Gul, taking 3 for 11 off four overs, spurred Pakistan to a 54-run win against Zimbabwe at Centurion. Shahid Afridi also scalped 3 for 17 as Zimbabwe were restricted to 127 for 8 in 20 overs, chasing Pakistan's 181.

A smattering of spectators watched a tepid
warm-up match as Gul rocked Zimbabwe's chase by dismissing Vusi Sibanda
and Chamu Chibhabha off successive deliveries with the score on 16.
Hamilton Masakadza, who scored 41 off 37 balls, and Tatenda Taibu
helped Zimbabwe recover by adding 76 off 10.5 overs but the slide began
once Afridi dismissed Taibu. Zimbabwe went on to lose six wickets for
35 runs and their chase went off the rails.

Pakistan had also got off to a poor start,
losing their first three wickets for 61 before Shoaib Mailk ran amok,
scoring 64 off 37 balls. He hit four sixes and three fours and added 50
for the fourth wicket with Younis Khan. Malik dominated the innings
towards the final overs and remained unbeaten as Pakistan stacked up
181 for 6.

Today's game might have been played in a
low-key atmosphere but Centurion was expected to be sold out for
Sunday's warm-up match between hosts South Africa and favourites
Australia.

Bangladesh's Nazimuddin showed why he is one of the young
players to watch for in this tournament as his unbeaten 74 helped his
side ease to a six-wicket win
over Scotland
at Centurion. The chase was boosted by his second-wicket stand of 87
with Aftab Ahmed, and the target of 146 was reached with four overs to
spare.

Nazimuddin's knock included nine fours and three sixes while Aftab's
breezy 33 (off 27 balls) included five fours. The pair scored at more
than 10 an over before Aftab fell to spinner Ross Lyons with the score
on 95. Mohammad Ashraful and Shakib Al Hasan fell in quick succession
but Nazimuddin ensured that Bangladesh were well on course to victory.

Earlier, Navdeep Poonia scored 54 to lift
Scotland to a respectable total. Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak opened
the bowling and pegged them back with early wickets before the middle
order aided the recovery, stringing together a few partnerships with
Poonia. His 54 came off 43 balls with four fours and two sixes.

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